This chick knows exactly how I feel about the shows going on in DC this month. KA-POW! Our music scene is always strong, but this month it’s on steroids or GHG or whatever Lance Armstrong was doping with. Yeh, some shows are sold out, but don’t be disheartened because there are a ton of options still out there and Mickey, Rachel and I have got your covered. And BTW, if a show you want to see is sold out, don’t be defeated. Nothing worth having ever came easy ;).

After the jump: The Sounds, TRUST, Boy George, The Dreamscapes Project, I Break Horses, and LOADS more.

The 9 Songwriter Series Unplugged
Friday, April 4th
Hierarchy Art Gallery
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Some good friends of mine who just happen to be entertaining singer-songwriters will be performing as part of The 9 Songwriter Series’ first-ever Unplugged show at Hierarchy Art Gallery in Adam’s Morgan. Louisa Hall (artist above) is a darling who always gets the audience into a fit of the giggles. Kevin de Souza plays some incredibly gorgeous songs that will be stuck in your head for days. Trust me when I say, you want to be there.
—Rachel

 

Elsinore
Sunday, April 6th
DC9
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Elsinore has been around for a bit and while they haven’t “BLOWN” up, they’re a solid live act to catch when they come to DC and I really enjoy seeing them  in smaller side venues like DC9. I’d describe their style as Kings of Leon rock and vocals, but with the storytelling and lightness of Ben Folds. Definitely a solid Sunday night band to groove to and put you in good mood for the week. —Rebecca

 

Pretty Gritty and Dave Farah with Lauren Calve
Thursday, April 10th
Ebenezers Coffeehouse
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As some of you may know if you follow me on Twitter, I spent the past weekend in the Outer Banks as part of the Off The Record music festival presented by Buncearoo and Noble Steed Music. Dave Farah was there and he was phenomenal. He’s an honest performer with a rich voice that I never tire of listening to. Pretty Gritty is also quite the duo with their unique performance style and harmonies. Add Lauren Calve to the mix with her hauntingly blusey folk-rock and you’ve got a pretty solid line-up there. —Rachel

 

The Sounds with Blondfire, Ghost Beach
Saturday, April 12
9:30 Club
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If nothing else, The Sounds prove that Swedes are beautiful, hard-working people. They will drop by the 9:30 Club this month in support of their new album, Weekend, and show you why they are one of the hardest working bands around today. Oh, and plus they have a knockout lead singer who could be Debbie Harry’s tough but tender daughter? And an amazing keyboard player who takes inspiration from Billie Currie of Ultravox? Is this a new waver’s dream? Your new favorite band? Everything you want in a rock and roll show? Yes, yes, yes, I say in my love letter to The Sounds. —Mickey (+ Rebecca double thumbs up)

 

Trust w/ Mozart’s Sister
Sunday, April 13
Black Cat
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The Faint thundered through DC for the 10th anniversary of their Danse Macabre album in December 2012 and they brought some strong opening acts with them, including Trust from Toronto. Robert Alfons recently released a second album, Joyland, as Trust after his bandmate departed. While I’m unclear if Alfons is playing solo, in a duo or with a band this time around, the Black Cat already has warned that tickets are running low for the performance by this synthesizer maestro. Alfons demonstrates that darkwave can be cohesive, melodic music rather than screeching noise that so many misappropriate under that banner. Highly recommended. —Mickey

 

I Break Horses
Tuesday, April 15
DC9
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This Swedish duo epitomizes dream pop, so I’m in love. Maria Linden’s ethereal, Stevie Nicks-esque vocals melt into the hypnotic pulsing beats and synth rifts laid down by Fredrik Balck. These two are definitely looking to push the genre more towards the “dream” then the “pop” side, so I Break Horses is in the avant-garde, but don’t worry their tracks still are totally accessible. If you hit the Dum Dum Girls or GEMS shows last month and dug them, then this is a show you can’t miss. —Rebecca

 

We Are Scientists w/ PAWS
Thursday, April 17
Black Cat
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We Are Scientists grabbed some attention in 2005 at the height of the post-punk revival with their album With Love and Squalor. And despite their flights of whimsy, they seemed like they might stay on the scene with other bands enjoying popularity from the same revival like the Arctic Monkeys and Interpol. That of course didn’t happen, but the band is back from a four-year hiatus with their new album, TV en Francais, the best reviewed album from band founders Keith Murray and Chris Cain on AllMusic.com. This will be the first time I’ll see them with third man Andrew William Burrows, who previously collaborated with Tom Smith of the Editors. —Mickey

 

The Last Dreamscapes Project Show
with ilyAIMY, Crooked Crow, Cassandra Syndrome, and Super bob
Saturday, April 19th
The State Theater
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The Dreamscapes Project has been a staple of the DC-area music scene for nearly two decades and are scheduled to play their last show together in April. It’s the end of an era really. Keith and the guys perform music that is nowhere near a cookie-cutter standard but, even so, it gets stuck in your head as you’re listening to it live. Their performances are full of electricity and it’s hard not to dance along to the rhythm of the beat. Come help send ’em off in style. —Rachel

 

Boy George
Monday, April 21
9:30 Club
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It’s true! The Culture Club frontman has a new album of solo material, This Is What I Do. And he’s slated to perform it, along with some Culture Club classics presumably, at the 9:30 Club this month. George was previously scheduled to DJ at the 9:30 Club in 2008 but he couldn’t make it due to visa difficulties, which apparently have now been cleared up. And the new album garnered largely positive reviews. So love him or hate him, there is little doubt that the physically and professionally reconstituted Mr. O’Dowd is going to put on a glamorous show. —Mickey

 

Dan Croll
Monday, April 21st
Rock N’ Roll Hotel
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FYI: This show will sell out. So if you’re reading this, click the link above and just buy tickets. Mr. Croll knows his instruments; he plays the trumpet, guitar, bass, drums organ and more and his music is clock full of them. In his first album, Sweet Disarray, Croll artfully weaves these various sounds into robust, intertwining melodies and the tracks naturally flow back and forth between acoustic to electric. Will be vary interesting to see how Croll performs live and to what level he brings it. —Rebecca

 

Nicole Atkins
Friday, April 25
Rock and Roll Hotel
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Nicole Atkins will open for Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds at DAR Constitution Hall in DC this summer, but you can catch her in a more intimate setting before then at the Rock and Roll Hotel. The singer-songwriter originally from Neptune, NJ, began her career a bit on the poppier side but quickly embraced dark hued songs and acoustic guitars in her stripped down exploration of Americana and emotional landscapes. After contributing to many different projects in recent years, she has released a third full-length album, Slow Phaser, again teaming up with producer Tore Johansson, known for his work with The Cardigans. —Mickey